Wedding Plans
by ELfict
Summary: Not a woman alive who doesn’t think about her wedding day, not even Kate Beckett. Spoilers for 2x12, a rose for ever after. When thinking of her dream wedding Kate gets a surprise. One she isn't too happy about...
1. Wedding Plans

**A/N:** Just something that came to my mind. Takes place after 2x12. I apologize in advance for typos and stuff like that, I'm having a bit of hard time typing this, since I've got a plaster cast around my right arm. So I'm typing this with only my left hand, which totally sucks, believe me. Anyway I would really, appreciate your reviews, because I always love reading them. Plus it might distract me from the annoying pain in my right wrist.

**Wedding Plans**_  
_

_Beckett: "I've never torn a picture of a wedding gown out of a magazine."_

_Castle: "You're lying."_

_  
_Kate Beckett was sitting at home on the couch, legs curled up comfortably. In one hand she held a glass of wine, which she took a sip out. Another case was closed and she had the night to herself.

She opened the little notebook that was sitting on her lap and something fell out of it. She picked it up, it was a page with scruffy edges, torn right out of a magazine. It was silly of course, but for a moment she had thought that Castle knew about the little notebook she kept. God, she hated it sometimes when he just seemed to know things that she didn't want anybody to know.

Her finger slid over the picture. It was a picture of a beautiful wedding gown. A broken white strapless dress with a small train. It was elegant but simple. She tucked the picture back into the notebook and flipped through the pages. She stopped and looked at the picture that was glued to one of the pages of the notebook. It was a wedding picture of her parents. Her mother was wearing a dress similar to the one she'd torn out of a magazine a while ago. On the picture she could see her parents beaming with happiness.

She sighed and her mind wondered back to the day she'd started writing in this notebook.

_It was the day of her parent's 10th anniversary, and the eight year old Kate was sitting on the couch with her mother. They were flipping through a wedding album with, in beautiful, elegant letters written on the cover, Jim and Johanna, April 15th._

_"Mom you look like a princess." Kate said to her mother while she was looking at the pictures with a fascinated gleam in her eyes._

_Her mother chuckled and stroked her daughter's hair. Kate looked up and asked with a serious look on her face, "I want to get married too."_

_"You probably will someday Katie." Her mother answered, trying to hide her amusement._

_"No…" Kate started, her eyebrows knitting in a stubborn frown, "I want to get married next week." She said sounding determined._

_"Oh, and who's the lucky man?" Her mother asked, with a smile on her face._

_"I don't know yet, but I'm sure I can find someone in time." Kate stated and continued, "I want the same dress as you, and I want a really big wedding cake. And I want really pretty flowers, in all sorts of colors."_

_"That's a lot to take care of in a week, don't you think next week's a little bit too soon?" Johanna Beckett asked her daughter._

_The youngest Beckett frowned thoughtfully before she replied, "Yes, you're probably right, I'll do it in two weeks." After she said that she jumped of the couch and was already planning on walking away when her mother pulled her playfully back on the couch._

_"Katie, listen to me." He mother started in a soft tone. "I know it seems nice to have a pretty wedding with a beautiful dress and flowers, but weddings aren't about that." She paused and smiled at the sight of her daughter watching her, wide eyed. "It's about love. One day you will meet someone who will make a smile come to your face, someone that makes you feel warm inside, someone who loves you and will make you happy. And when you meet that someone, then you can have a wedding with beautiful flowers and a beautiful dress."_

_Her mother had take her to the closet and pulled a notebook out of it. She had given it to her and said, "You can write all the idea's you have down here. Write about what kind of wedding you want, one day you might need it."_

_The moment she had gotten that notebook she had started writing._

Kate Beckett flipped back to the first few pages of the notebook. Those pages were filled with her, bit messy, eight-year old handwriting. She dreamed off to 'her wedding'. She was standing in front of the isle wearing a beautiful wedding dress. She looked at her future husband. She stared into his bright blue eyes, took in his tall posture, his…

Wait, what?! What the _hell _was Castle doing in her imaginary wedding! Maybe as a guest, okay, but as her future _husband_? Stupid Castle, he was starting to worm his way into a lot of places he shouldn't, or rather, she didn't want him to.

As she tried to shake of all thought about Castle, all sorts of flashbacks started to run through her mind.

_"He's all yours."_

_"Just because you can't see what's going on doesn't mean everyone else doesn't see what's going on."_

_"He is such a catch."_

_"One day you will meet someone who will make a smile come to your face, someone who makes you feel warm inside"_

_"I know he only dedicates his books to people he really cares for."  
_  
Aaargh, get yourself together Kate! She thought to herself. Castle was getting to her way more than he should.

At that moment her cell phone rang. Speak of the devil, she thought when she checked the caller id. "Beckett."

"Hey." Castle replied.

-

**A/N: So this is supposed to be a one shot but maybe it'll more. Let me know what you thought about it! :)**


	2. Phone Call

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews :) They made me feel slightly better. So I decided to listen to you and continue this story. It probably won't be a very long one, but we'll see. I've already got some ideas for the next chapter as well.  
So, this chapter is just very simple, it continues where the last chapter ended. If you've got the time I would really appreciate it if you would let me know what you think about it.

**Chapter 2: Phone Call.**

"Beckett."

"Hey." Castle replied.

"Um, hi." Beckett said. She took a glance at her watch, Eleven PM. Why would Castle call her at eleven PM?

"Hola."

What the hell? She thought. "Hello?" She asked, not sure what Castle was up to.

"Bonjour."

"Castle!" She said. Did he call her just to annoy her by saying hello in like, a lot of different launguages? Because if he did, it sure worked.

"Beckett." Castle replied.

"Stop it!" She ordered.

"Stop what?" He quickly shot back.

She rubbed her temples and sighed. "Never mind, why did you call me?" She asked, hoping this annoying phone call would quickly be over.

"Why, do I need a reason?" Castle asked, although he sounded surprised she could hear a hint of teasing in his voice.

She sighed and replied, "Yes, you do."

"Well in that case, I just wanted to hear your beautiful voice." He said in a low, almost husky voice.

She blushed. She hated herself for doing that but she did. And she wasn't really the kind of girl that blushed. The first time she had blushed in a long time was, _oh god. _It was the first case she'd worked with Castle. Ryan and Esposito where teasing her when they found out she was 'a fan' of Castle.

_"Check it girl, you're totally a fan." Esposito had said._

_"Yeah, of the genre." She had quickly replied._

_"Right, of the genre, that's why you're blushing."_

Somehow every time she blushed it had got to do something with _him. _Stupid Castle."Hellooo… Beckett? Are you still there?" Castle asked after a few moments of silence had passed.

His words brought her back to the current situation and she was about to reply when she a sound on the other end of the line. A tapping sound. At first she couldn't quite place it, but suddenly she remembered.

"Castle, are you typing?"

"Yes, very good detective. As a matter in fact I'm writing a new scene for the next Nikki Heat book as we speak." He replied and she could hear him tapping continuously on the keys of his keyboard. "Do you want to know what happens…?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Sure."

"Well, one night, Rook calls Nikki and they get into a heated argument. Because Rook is totally annoying Nikki and she's got something better to do then talking to Rook−"

"Ah" She interrupted, "I see you sometimes can read me very well, because you really annoy me and I'm going to hang up now."

"No, wait. Don't you want to know how the scene ends?" He asked and she could almost see the childish grin on his face.

"How does it end Castle?" Although she pretended not to care, she still was curious what Castle would write.

"Well, as the argument gets more heated, the heat turns into another kind of heat. They end up sort of having phone sex until Nikki can't take it anymore and she goes to Rook's apartment."

"Bye Castle." She said and hung up the phone. Stupid, arrogant, childish, sexist Castle. The only reason that he had been in _her _imaginative wedding was because he was spending way too much time around at the precinct. Yes, of course, she thought. That must be it.

She got up, went to her bedroom and walked over to the bookshelves that hung on the wall. Nothing got her mind better of things, or in this case Castle, than reading a good book. That's when she spotted his name all over her bookshelf. Great, she thought sarcastically. She had almost forgotten that _his _books were the ones that could distract her the best. She sighed and decided to read one of his books anyway. She picked 'the special' book out of her collection and took it with her to the living room.

Her 'special' book was the one he had signed. The one she had read about a million times, kind of just like she had with his other books. Yes, he had gotten into her head way before he'd started shadowing her on cases. She was just about to start reading when her phone rang again.

"What?" She answered the phone after having checked the caller id.

"I just wanted to say that I finished writing the Nikki Heat scene." Came the reply.

"Good for you." She said coldly.

"Yes, anyway… Stay right where you are and just continue doing, whatever you're doing."Castle said.

"Why Castle?" She asked but he had already hung up. She stared blankly at the phone and was thinking whenever she should call him back or not. Finally she put down the phone, shook her head and started reading her book.

-

**A/N: Ok, so I'm not really happy with this chapter and I rewrote it a couple of times, but this will just have to do. I know it's short, but I already started writing the next chapter which will probably be longer. Please review, that would make me very happy :)**


	3. Late Night Visit

A/N: Thanks so much for you reviews, they mean very much to me. I think that after this chapter there'll be one or two more. Enjoy, and hopefully review!

**Late Night Visit**

Kate Beckett was sitting, for the second time that evening, with her legs curled up on the couch. She was reading one of her most favorite Derrick Storm books and was almost at, according to her, the best part of the whole book when she heard a knock on the door. She furrowed her brow and wanted to get up but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the page she was reading. She wasn't expecting anybody so maybe, she thought, the person at the door would just go away.

After a few seconds someone knocked on the door, again. This time louder and, to Kate's utter annoyance, with some kind of rhythm making it sound like some kind of doorbell. Finally she put away the book and walked to the door.

Before opening the door she looked through the peep hole. She saw nobody. With a soft growl annoyance she opened the door. When the door was fully open Castle jumped into her sight while saying loudly, "Surprise!"

"Castle, what are you doing here?" She heard herself say, still slightly agitated.

"It's nice to see you too, Beckett." He said and added with a smile, "And I would love to come in, thank you."

"I didn't−" She started but before she could finish he brushed past her, entering her apartment. She had wanted to stop him but when she felt his body brush against hers lightly and the faint smell of cologne reached her nose she wasn't able to move anymore. Luckily once he had moved past her she was able to get herself together again and she turned around to find Castle standing in the middle of her apartment, his eyes scanning the room.

Castle was surprised she hadn't even tried to kick him out yet. It was the first time he was in her apartment. It wasn't really how he'd imagined it to be. It was more… homey then he'd expected. The living room had nice warm colors, earth tints on the walls, plus red curtains and some nice decorations for extra color. The couch looked like one of those couches that were so comfortable they were almost impossible to get out of. She had a pretty good television, not as good as his of course, but still pretty decent. Suddenly he spotted her DVD-collection next to her TV.

Beckett watched as Castle suddenly moved and saw him walking towards her DVD's. She followed him, to see what he was doing. When she stood next to him, she saw his eyes scanning the titles of the DVD's. Suddenly his eyes stopped at one particular one and a wide grin broke out on his face. She watched in horror as he took the DVD out of the rack, a look of triumph on his face.

"I knew it!" He said, as he held up the DVD.

Her eyes were wide, and focused on the DVD in his hand. "I−" She was trying to think of something to defend herself, but came up with nothing. She felt almost as bad as she'd felt when he had caught her reading Heat Wave in the bathroom once.

"Showgirls, special edition." He said, a smirk still plastered on his face. When she tried to grab it from him he held it up high, just out of her reach.

"Castle…" She said in a low, warning tone.

"Yes?" He asked innocently.

She gave him an angry glare. She should've known she couldn't get away with that one little slip during that case. It was the case of the murdered model, Jenna.

"Jealousy is a classic motive, you've seen the films" She remembered him saying. After he named some movies he'd said, "And of course the underrated classic Showgirls"

Immediately she had replied, "Nobody murdered anyone in Showgirls"

She had said it without thinking, she had seen the movie so many times, she didn't even have to think about it. Of course after having let that slip he had looked at her with that smug smile of his. She had quickly added, "I hear" to sort of cover it up. He had never brought it up again so she thought he'd just forgotten it. But apparently she was wrong. Very wrong.

With one quick, unexpected move she grabbed the DVD out of his hands and put it back in the DVD rack. He was still looking at her with his stupid triumphant, smug grin.

"Castle, why are you here?" She asked.

"Why not?" He replied.

"Maybe, you could've interrupted me with something. Or someone." She said. He was really arrogant. Thinking that she would just be home _alone _on a Saturday night. Which, of course, she was but he couldn't know that!

"I called you." He stated simply.

"You didn't say you were coming over. And you also didn't know if I wasn't with somebody." She said, starting to get really pissed.

"I know. But you picked up the phone, _and _you didn't hang up immediately. Which means, either you were alone, or the person you were with was very boring." He countered.

"You still didn't answer my question." She said and folded her arms.

"Which one?" He asked.

"Why are you here?" She repeated the question she'd asked earlier.

"I've never seen your apartment before." He replied.

"So? You just decide to come over at…" She pause to look at her watch, "Almost midnight?!"

"Em… Yeah I guess I did" He said, sounding not quite as sure of himself as before. He didn't really think about it before. He just really wanted to see her apartment and, maybe, her too. He hadn't given it much thought, he had just left his office and went to her apartment.

"Castle, just go." She said.

"What? Can't I get a tour. You know, since I'm here anyway. I would love to see your bedroom." He said as he wriggled his eyebrows.

"No you can't" She said, walked to her door and opened it, as a sign for him to leave.

"Fine!" He said as he raised his hands in defeat. He was about to make his was to the door when he spotted it. Two 'it's' actually. One of them was his book, lying open on the couch, and the other was a notebook. A notebook that looked a lot like some kind of diary. He grinned as he made his way to the couch. This was going to be good.


	4. The Chase

**A/N: So, good news. Well, aside from this new chapter of course. My plaster cast is gone, and although I now have some kind of bandage around my wrist and it still hurts, I now can type with at least more than five fingers. So that's a lot better :)  
Oh and there are slight spoilers for 2x13 in here, but not a lot. Also one line refers to episode 2x5 but it isn't really a spoiler. Anyway, I'm gonna stop rambling now and let you read. I hope you'll review again (or for the first time), because I really like it when you do. **

**The Chase**

Beckett's eyes grew wide when she saw Castle picking up her notebook. Her _wedding_ notebook. She immediately slammed the door she was holding closed and basically sprinted towards Castle.

"Give that to me." She said, panting slightly when she stood in front of him.

Castle was holding the notebook in his hands, not having opened it yet. His eyes moved from the object in his hands to Beckett and back again. Beckett had a 'if-you-don't-do-what-I-say-I'll-kill-you' kind of look in her eyes. He knew that look, but still… That she had that look in her eyes meant that the notebook he was holding must be, interesting to say at least.

"Beckett…" He said, in a teasing tone, "I never pegged you for a diary kind of girl."

"It isn't a diary." She muttered in a harsh voice, her still glued to the notebook in his hands.

"Not a diary huh? What could it be then?" Castle said, partly talking to himself.

"CASTLE! Give. It. To. Me." She said, slowly, emphasizing every word.

He grinned at her determination to get the notebook back. He knew that it was probably not a good idea and she'd probably kill him for it but he was too curious not read it. So he took a step away from her before opening it. And what he saw was _so _much better than he's expected. A picture of a wedding gown, torn right out of a magazine.

Unfortunately for him he had not much time to look at it, because the moment she saw him set eyes on that picture she lunged forward to grab the notebook away from him. Only Castle's reflexes were pretty quick and he jumped away from her just in time. That was enough for Beckett to start the chase, and they both started running frantically through the small New York living room.

Meanwhile Castle was trying to read the notebook, which was very hard while running _and _avoiding to walk into some furniture. Still he managed to get the big picture about the contents of the notebook. He flipped another page and saw a picture. A wedding picture of Beckett's parents. Suddenly he realized what the notebook must mean to hear and he stood still.

Beckett, who didn't expect that Castle was going to stop, bumped into him. Hard. So hard that they both fell on the floor, Beckett on top of Castle. Castle normally would've made some kind of innuendo, but he knew that after the thing with the notebook, he was on thin ice. So he only said, "So detective, finally falling for me?"

Beckett, who just realized in what position they were in, quickly got up and straightened her clothes, trying to hide the faint blush that she felt on her cheeks. "No way Castle."

Castle got up too and looked almost− guilty. Like a kid that had done something, he knew that he shouldn't have. Castle slowly raised his hand, the one with her notebook in it, and gave it back to her. He looked at her with soft eyes and she looked down to see the picture of her parents. "Sorry" He whispered softly, and she felt his breath tickling her hair.

She looked up to see that the look in his eyes was sincere. God, she hated that. Always when there was something about her mother or something else that was serious he had that look. That look that made her want to do things. Things like hug him or kiss him or… well, let's not even go there. The look that showed her that he cared.

"Your mother gave it to you, didn't she." He asked, although he made it sound more like he was stating a fact.

She nodded and sighed. She had the feeling that she should be angrier with him. Like she should've kicked him out already. But somehow she didn't feel angry at all. He didn't make it a joke, he hadn't even said a thing about the picture of the wedding gown. It were moments like these, moments when he didn't acted like a twelve year-old or a wise-ass, when he was just… a good guy, that she wondered if he was really like the guy the tabloids made him out to be, a playboy. It even, although she'd never admit it, make her think about if it would really be so bad to be with him.

Castle didn't know what to do, since she still hadn't said anything. He was starting to think he had really screwed up until she spoke, "My mother gave it to me when I was eight years old. It was the day of my parents' 10th wedding anniversary. I was mesmerized by how beautiful and great a wedding seemed. You know, the dress, the flowers and of course, the wedding cake. So I said to mother that I wanted to get married too. I was already ready to start planning my wedding, until my mother stopped me. She told me some things, and after that she gave me that notebook to write my ideas in. After the case with the bridesmaid, I remembered my notebook and looked it up again."

Beckett had put down the notebook and was now nervously fumbling with her hands and kept her eyes focused on them. She had never told anyone that before, aside from Lanie. Her dad didn't even know about it. But now Castle did. Every time she told him something about herself, gave a little piece of herself to him, he had listened and she had started trusting him. Although she would never admit it, she felt safe with him. With the Coonan case, when she was having a breakdown he had placed his hand on her shoulder. He had let her know that he was there for her, and she had felt safer.

"Thank you." He said when she finally dared to look up.

"For what?" She asked.

"For telling me that." He said, as smile spread on his face. It wasn't a smug smile or a grin, it was just a sincere warm smile.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, just like they had when Castle had almost left her, to write about 'a certain British secret agent'. They were both trying to see what the other would do, but they didn't dare to move before the other did. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and she closed the distance between them.

-

**A/N: Yeah I know, evil moment to stop writing. I'm sorry, it just seemed fitted as the ending of this chapter. I hope you'll forgive me… As for the next chapter, ideas anyone?  
**


	5. Big Mistake

**A/N: **Thank you all so much for all the story alerts, favourites, reviews etc. Then encourage me to write. At first I wanted to just write five chapters to this story. But, as you will read, is not going to work anymore. I don't know for sure, but I'm going to add at least one more chapter to this, maybe more. Let me know if you liked it!  
**  
Big Mistake**

When their lips touched, it was like all the built up tension from the past months came together in that one kiss. Although they were a bit hesitant at first, soon they parted their lips and started exploring each other's mouths with their tongues as the kiss grew more passionate. His hands rested on her waist and he carefully pulled her closer to him, increasing the contact between their bodies.

There was a voice in her head yelling at her that she should push him away, that she shouldn't be doing this. She was kissing Richard Castle. Richard Castle, author and pain-in-the-ass extraordinaire. Yes, a small part of her was telling her this was wrong. But why, _why, _did it feel so right? His lips, his tongue, every touch, it all felt _so _good. So she shut out the voice in her head and she just did what her body told her to do. Her hands trailed over his chest, encircled his neck and found their place in his hair, not allowing him to stop.

Kate Beckett never failed to surprise him, but this was… well, definitely a pleasant surprise. Of course he had imagined what it would be like to kiss her, to touch her and have her close to him, for Nikki Heat. At least that's what he told himself, but Nikki Heat had become an excuse to be with _her. _Not the other way around. When he felt her hands tangle up in his hair and she trailed his lips with her tongue, he couldn't hold back a soft low growl. She was so much better than Nikki Heat.

Castle slowly walked forward and they slowly moved, not breaking the kiss. When Kate felt the cool brick wall against her back, the little nagging voice in the back of her head started to come back again. She tried to ignore it though, she didn't want to think. All she wanted was him, and her whole body was aching for some skin contact. Unfortunately, the voice was now yelling and she couldn't ignore it anymore. Castle. Why was she kissing him? Sure, he was a great kisser, better than great actually, but why? He had just done something she'd clearly told him not to. Plus he had shown up at her apartment and entered _uninvited. _And of course there was his ridiculous phone call.

Suddenly a thought hit her like a thunderbolt. Nikki Heat. He had been writing a scene for Nikki Heat. Was he doing 'research' now? Was this all for Nikki Heat? Damn, she should hit him for kissing her. Oh wait, she had kissed him. He kissed back, but she had taken the initiative. Shit.

Finally she broke off the kiss and they both gasped for air. Kate felt his hands on her waist, it felt like the touch of his fingers burned straight through her clothes. Also his body was so close to her, she could feel the heat of body radiate against hers. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest and she could hear the loud, unsteady breathing of them both.

Okay, she thought, we need to regroup here. She placed a hand on his chest and tried to ignore how firm it felt under her hand, also she thought she felt his heartbeat, but it could just as well be hers. She gathered all her strength and pushed him away and said, her voice sounding more unsteady than she liked, "Castle, you should go."

"Wh− What?" He breathed.

"You should go." She repeated, her voice a bit more stable than before.

A look of utter confusion spread across his face , "Why?"

"It's late" She simply stated. He was still standing close enough to her to make her feel uncomfortable, so she walked over to the door and opened it.

"That doesn't answer my question." Castle commented. When she didn't reply he continued, "Look, if this is about reading that notebook, I already told you I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that, and if I would've known… Well, I'm just really sorry. But please, don't just make me leave because of that."

"Who says it's because of that, that I want you to leave?" She said. Her voice made it sound harsher then she'd intended and she saw a mixture of hurt, confusion and worry in his eyes. Damn, he had to leave soon otherwise she wouldn't be able to let him go. She wanted him but she was too scared. Maybe it was all for Nikki Heat. Or maybe she would just be one of his conquests.

Even if he did have feelings for her, she didn't want to lose him. Ever since her mother's death, she wasn't good at keeping long-term relationships work. So if they got together, they would probably break up as well. And she didn't want that. So it would just be better if they just stayed partners, maybe even friends. She had decided.

"Castle." She said and gestured towards the door.

"Kate..." He said with a sigh. "Don't do this."

She narrowed her eyes before she stepped around him and pushed him out of the door. He was too surprised to struggle. "I'll see you tomorrow at work. Goodnight Castle." She said and she shut the door behind him, just before he could get back in again.

Kate had hoped that she would feel some sense of euphoria. But all she did was feel empty. She leaned against the still closed door and sagged to the floor. She gently touched her lips, that were still burning from their kiss.

A loud knock on her door startled her a bit but she ignored it. After what seemed ages, the knocking stopped and her apartment was silent again. A few minutes later her cell phone rang. She didn't pick up. She felt like she had just made the biggest mistake in her life.


	6. Another Visit

**A/N: **I'm sorry for taking this long to update, I had a busy week. Enjoy (hopefully).

**Another Visit**

Castle was sitting in his office, staring blankly at the screen of his laptop. Usually when he couldn't sleep, he went down to his office and wrote. But right now he couldn't even focus on that. His mind kept rerunning what had happened in Kate's apartment. She had kissed him, and he kissed back. And then suddenly she broke it off and told him to leave.

Was he such a bad kisser? He sighed. Over the past minutes he had came up with all kind of reasons why she had told him to leave. But it didn't work, he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. He picked up his cell phone again. Still no call back. He had called her like a million times and he had texted her.

Suddenly his phone vibrated. His heart pounded loudly in his chest when he read the text, _New Message from Beckett, _on his screen. Quickly he opened, and read it.

* * *

Kate Beckett was feverishly walking circles in her living room. She begun to realize what a bug mistake she'd made. If a guy had done the same thing to her, she would totally hate him for it. Hopefully he would forgive her, she thought. She'd screwed up bad, but there was still time to set things straight.

But how?

Calling him wasn't an option. That would be way too cowardly. And Kate Beckett wasn't a coward. She took a deep breath as she picked up her cell phone. Nine missed calls and five new messages, all from him. She started reading them.

_Kate please open your door, I know you're still there._

Kate, please pick up your phone.

Why did you want me to leave?

Talk to me, please.

_Sigh. Okay I'll stop sending you texts now, but when you read this, call me._She didn't want to deal with this trough the phone. She needed to face him sooner or later anyway. It took all her courage but she finally managed to send him a text saying, "_Can I come over?"_Almost instantly she got a reply, "_Of course"_Good, she thought. The first step is taken, now just the rest. Although she had absolutely no idea what to say to him, she walked out of her apartment, locked the door and went downstairs. When she was outside she hailed a cab and gave him Castle's address.

* * *

She raised her hand to knock on his door, but then lowered it again. What was she doing? Kate Beckett wasn't the kind of girl that went over to a guy's house at midnight, just to apologize. But then again, this was wasn't just some guy. It was Richard Castle. And she'd really screwed up.

She sighed and raised her hand again, when she noticed the doorbell. Should she ring it or knock on the door? Once again she lowered her hand doubtfully. Okay Kate, she thought, stop acting so ridiculous and just ring the bell. Somehow she felt now more nervous then when she was about to knock on somebody's door and tell them that a relative or friend had been murdered. But that was her territory, this wasn't.

After straightening her clothes one more time, she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

When Castle heard the sound of his doorbell he immediately jumped up and ran to the door. Halfway there he suddenly remembered that he shouldn't scare her off, so he slowed his pace. He slowly opened the door to a slightly uncomfortable looking Kate Beckett.

"Hey" He greeted her.

"Hi" She replied.

"Come in." He said and opened the door further, gesturing for her to enter.

She walked past him, inside the apartment. Suddenly she felt his hands on her back and she momentarily stiffened until she realized he was trying to take her coat. She let him and after he had taken her coat she turned around to face him.

"So…" She started, having not the slightest idea how to continue.

"So… do want something to drink?" He asked politely.

"No, thanks." She replied.

They stood in front of each other, an uncomfortable silence surrounding them. Kate felt like she should be the one to break the silence. If only she knew how.

Finally Castle cleared his throat and said, "Shall we sit?" She nodded after which he guided her to his very expensive and comfortable couch.

When they sat on the couch, she looked into his eyes for the first time since she'd came into his apartment. His piercing blue eyes didn't have the usual playful spark in them. At least, she noticed to her relief, he didn't look angry or hurt. He just looked serious, maybe even worried. The first time she'd stared into his eyes like this earlier that night she had leaned in and kissed him. Her thoughts trailed back and she caught herself staring at his lips. _Get yourself together! _she ordered herself. She wasn't here for that.

She focused her gaze on his eyes instead of his lips again, took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know what happened. I guess I just kind of shut down, or something like that. I mean, I don't really let people in very easily and−"

"Where are you sorry for?" He interrupted her, a sudden urgency in his voice.

She furrowed her brow, confused about his question. "About kicking you out like that." She answered.

"So, you aren't sorry about… you know, kissing me?" He asked, looking a bit… self-conscious.

Suddenly realization hit her. He thought she regretted kissing him. "No, I'm not." She replied.

Castle let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. "Good." He said with a smile and added, "I wasn't either."

He leaned a bit closer to her, as did she. Then, for the second time that evening the distance between was closed.

-

**A/N: So, I think this might be the end. What do you think? Should I add another chapter? Oh and if I do, I guess I'm going to have to change the rating to M. But, I like to listen to my readers, so if you think it's a bad idea I won't do it. As always, I would love it if you left a review.**


	7. Real Wedding Plans?

**A/N: So I was going to continue this were I left off, but the mcowgirl08 gave me an idea that I couldn't get out of my head. So this last chapter is set in the future. I hope you'll enjoy it!**

**Real Wedding Plans?**

Castle fumbled nervously with the little black box he held in his hand. He opened it and took the ring out again, making sure it was still exactly the way he bought it. It was a simple white golden ring with one small diamond in it. The moment he saw it he knew that it would be perfect for Kate. If she'd accept it of course.

They had been together for over a year now, if you didn't count the time that he was 'only' shadowing her on murder cases. It's the greatest relationship he's ever been in. Challenging at times but always interesting. After the first case they had worked together he had sort of asked her out. When she declined he had said something like, "It's too bad, it would've been great." After he said that she had bit her lip, leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "You have no idea."

Only then he didn't have a clue of how true those words really were. She was even more unpredictable and surprising than he thought she would be. That was probably why he was so nervous right now. He had no idea how she would react. He had spent a lot of time thinking of how to do this. He knew Kate was a romantic but she didn't like being in public too much. So he had decided to just ask her at his apartment.

Also he had been wanting to ask for permission from her dad first, but then decided against it. She would make him regret that if she'd ever find out. He did ask Alexis what she thought about it though. Because when he married Gina, Alexis didn't seem all that excited about it. She had been right about that, since that marriage ended in a divorce. That's why he was very happy that Alexis even encouraged him to marry Kate. She almost seemed happier then he felt himself.

Although that might have something to do with the fact that he was so nervous.

He took another glance at the clock and walked another round trough the room. He had been pacing back and forth this room for over an hour, sometimes walking through the kitchen to check on the food, and otherwise just mindlessly walking around. Suddenly one single sound broke the silence in his apartment, causing him to almost jump.

As he walked to the door his heart started thudding louder and louder in his chest. He took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Kate was greeted by the sight of an gaping Rick Castle, who's gaze slowly moved over her body, causing her to blush lightly. "Hi" She said.

"Hi." He said when he finally met her eyes. "You look stunning." He added with a broad smile. She was wearing the small cocktail dress he had bought her a couple months ago. It hugged her curves in all the right places.

She knew he liked that dress on her, so she'd been wearing it a lot on their 'monthly date'. Of course they spent a lot more time with each other than just once a month, but when they had started dating there always came something around which made them have to cancel their plans. So much that it took a month before they could finally go on their first date. After that Castle had sort of joked that, if it wasn't too much, they could have one date a month. She laughed about it at first, but it kind of became their 'thing'. They spend a lot of time with each other during the month and slept over at each other's apartments as well, but they had one 'official' date a month. Sometimes he took her to some fancy restaurant and at other times he just cooked dinner for her, or the other way around. It was nice.

"Come in." He said, after which he took gently grabbed her arm and led her into his apartment.

After he had seated her at the table he went to the kitchen again to get the food.

During dinner they talked a bit about work the case they were working on, Alexis and some other things. Small talk mostly.

"Do you like it?" Castle asked as she took another bite of her food.

"Yes, I already said that, " She replied with a small chuckle, "twice."

"Oh, right. I forgot." He answered as he stood up to get the bottle of wine. Just as he wanted to refill her glass she stopped him.

"Rick, you've already given me three refills, are you trying to get me drunk?" She asked teasingly.

"Eh, no I− sorry." He replied as he hastily but down the bottle again.

He was acting kind of weird all evening, she'd noticed. He seemed… distracted, not being his usual self. "Rick, is everything alright?" She asked concerned.

His head jerked up and he replied, "Yes, fine. Just−" He sighed. This was ridiculous, he was acting like some teenager who wanted to ask a crush on a first date. He was a grown man for god sakes, plus he'd done this before. Well, that women had been pregnant with his baby, but still. He didn't exactly know about his second wife though. That seemed to be sort of a mutual thing, a bit rushed maybe. _Geez, you're thinking about your ex-wives just before you want to ask Kate to marry you, get a grip! _

"Just…?" She asked, encouraging him to say what's on his mind.

_Okay, this is the moment, don't screw it up. _"Okay, I might as well say it now." He started. "I had prepared what I wanted to say, I even endlessly repeated it in the mirror, but right now I have no idea what those words were."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"But in the end it is all about those four words, it doesn't really matter what's said before them." He continued. He grabbed the box out of his pocket and dropped down on one knee. He saw her eyes grew wide, only he didn't know if that was positive or negative. "I know this is pretty cliché, the whole dropping on one knee thing, but it seemed like the right thing to do." Finally he opened the box and asked, "Kate Beckett, will you marry me?"

Thousands of thought swirled around in her mind. The nagging voice that once told her to push him away was now screaming one word at her, YES. A smile spread across her face when she realized that she totally agreed with that voice. "Yes, I will." She replied.

All the worry and nervousness left his body at once. After he had slipped the ring around her finger, he interlaced their fingers and stood up. He had the most excited smile on his face that she'd ever seen.

"You know what this means, don't you?" He asked her as he moved closer, their fingers still interlaced.

"Hmm?" She asked, as she let go of his hand and moved her hands to the back of his neck.

"You are going to have to look up that notebook of yours again." He said.

She grinned and pulled him to her, letting their lips meet once again.

**The End.****-**

**A/N:**So this is officially the end. I might, if you're interested, make a sequel. That sequel will take place between chapter six and seven, starting where were I stopped at the end of chapter six. I'm first going to focus on my other story for a while, but maybe after that.  
Anyway, thanks for reading! And also a huge thanks for all your encouragements, kind words and constructive criticism, I really appreciate it. As always I would love to hear from you.

~ELfict


End file.
